1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bed with extendable and retractable extensions.
2. Description of the Related Art
It may be desirable for a bed to be designed that can be extended to accommodate the larger sizes needed in some situations.
Some examples include:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,136 to Waters et al. is titled Combination Hospital Bed and Surgical Table. This patent shows a combination hospital bed and surgical table. It is comprised of: a frame having floor-engaging wheels, a substantially flat, substantially rectangular deck carried by the frame, suitable for holding a human patient in the supine position, the deck having a head end and a foot end and being divided into at least three sections, including a lengthwise center section bordered by two, opposite, lengthwise, side sections that are hingedly connected to the frame so that they each can swing from a horizontal position down to an underneath position, below the center section, thereby making the deck narrower to facilitate its use as a surgical table, and means for holding the side sections in their horizontal position. Preferred additional features include means for raising and lowering the deck to different heights, a drop leaf head support segment, built-in weighing means, channels underneath the bed surface for X-ray cassettes, and an articulated bed surface to permit the bed to be converted into Trendelenburg, reverse Trendelenburg, or other positions, even a sitting position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,744 to Foster et al. is titled Hospital Bed with Inflatable and Collapsible side Edges and Laterally-Movable Side Guards. It teaches a hospital bed that has a frame mounted on a base. Articulating head, seat and leg patient support panels are mounted on the frame. Side guards are mounted on the panels. Patient support panels have longitudinal edges that are collapsible to narrow the bed for transporting a patient. The side guards are inwardly movable to contribute to the narrowing of the bed while still protecting the patient from falling out of the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,370 to Foster et al. is titled Hospital Bed with Collapsing Wing. It shows a collapsing wing on a lateral side near the head end of a hospital bed. As the result of a laterally inwardly applied force, the wing collapses thereby allowing easier access to the center or furthermost side of the hospital bed or patient for a nurse or care provider. The wing is attached to the bed frame of the hospital bed by a spring loaded parallelogram linkage which permits the wing to move laterally within a generally horizontal plane as a result of the inward force. Once the inward force is removed, the linkage returns the wing to the full width hospital bed configuration. The wing is a U-shaped channel open toward the bed. The bed has a narrower U-shaped channel open toward the wing channel. The channels are connected by the parallelogram linkage. The wing channel nests over the frame channel when a laterally inward force is applied to the wing channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,406,729 to Hornbach et al. is titled Patient Support having Powered Adjustable Width. It shows a patient support for supporting a patient in a horizontal position is provided. The patient support includes a frame and a deck. The deck includes first and second ends and longitudinal sides extending there between. The deck also includes a first portion configured to extend laterally from the deck to widen the deck. An actuator is coupled to the deck and configured to move the first portion between an extended position and a retracted position.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,441 to Poulos et al. is titled expandable Width Bed. It shows a variable width bed is provided. In one embodiment the bed has a frame, a deck supported on the frame, and a mattress on the deck. A portion of the mattress on one of head and seat deck sections expands to have an increased width. In an alternate embodiment, deck extender assemblies are provided at the sides of the bed. Each of the deck extender assemblies have supplemental mattresses connected thereto.
United States Published Application 2008/0000028 to Lemire et al. is titled Patient Support. It shows a patient support apparatus, such as a bed, stretcher, or cot, includes a patient support deck that is directly coupled to elevation adjustment mechanisms without the need for an intervening frame. The elevation adjustment mechanisms may be placed outside the perimeter of the support deck to allow the support deck to be lowered to a greater extent and provide room for attaching side rails to the support deck. The width of the patient support deck may be adjusted by way of extenders, and the sleep surface may also be adjusted by way of foldable strips. A jack type of actuator may be used to pivot the different sections of the support deck with respect to each other. The elevation adjustment mechanisms may include vertical threaded shafts that rotatingly engage threaded collars and raise or lower the collars when the shaft and the collar rotate with respect to each other.
While each of these references show inventions that may work well for their intended purposes, none show the unique features having the advantages of the present invention.
Thus there exists a need for a bed with extendable and retractable sections that solves these and other problems.